Shoe



April 7, 1959 A. J. WEINSTEIN 2,830,525

SHOE

Filed July 26, 1957 2- Sheets-Sheet 1 I I INVENTOR:

April 1959 I A. J. WElN STElN 2,880,525

SHOE

Filed July 26, 1957 2 SheetsJ-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: ABBM/MJ M/NSTE/NArm/eA/EV United States Patent SHOE Abraham J. Weinstein, Brooklyn,N.Y., assignor of onethird to Robert Henderson, Short Hills, NJ.

Application July 26, 1957, Serial No. 674,350

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-45) This invention relates to an improved article offootwear and the manner in which it is made.

An important object of the invention is the provision of an improvedshoe which utilizes considerably less material than prior shoes ofcomparable style thereby making the shoe lighter and, for that reason,more comfortable for the wearer and is less costly to make because ofthe reduced quantity of material therein.

Another important object is the provision of an improved shoe which maybe easily and economically produced from prefabricated parts of suchrelative shapes, for a given size, as to give greater assurance that thefinished shoe will be of a precise desired size.

Another important object is to provide an improved shoe whereinstitching is avoided around the edge of the proved shoe in whichportions of the vamps which are underneath the arch continueuninterruptedly as a covering for the front or inside face of the heelof the shoe and are anchored underneath the top lift of the heel.

The foregoing and other more or less obvious objects are accomplished bythis invention as set forth in the following description and illustratedin the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the inner side of a finished,illustrative shoe according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a top view of said shoe.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of said shoe.

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of said shoe.

Figure 5 is a rear elevational view of said shoe.

Figure 6 is a bottom view of said shoe in an intermediate stage of itsmanufacture.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view, substantially in the line 7-7of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view, substantially on the line 88 ofFigure 1.

Figure 9 is a bottom view of a prefabricated arch supporting shank forthe shoe.

The shoe illustrated in the drawings is only one of many differentstyles in which shoes may be produced and utilized within this inventionand, particularly with respect to the shoes upper, linings may beprovided although such linings are not shown in the drawing.

Although the shoes upper may comprise a smaller or greater number ofpieces, it is disclosed as comprising a collar 10, an inner-side vamp12, an outer-side vamp 14, an inner backstay or counter 16, an outerbackstay 18 and a collar binding 20; all said parts preferably being ofsuitable thin leather or more or less equivalent material.

The shoes sole portion, as illustrated, comprises a bottom insert 22, anouter sole 24 and, preferably, a cushioning inner sole 26 and a socklining 28. The insert 22 is of thin leather or other suitable sheetmaterial; the outer sole 24 is of sole leather or more or lessequivalent sole material; the inner sole 26 is preferably of granularcork or other suitable cushioning material; and the sock lining is ofthin leather or equivalent material. In the illustrated shoe, the backof the sole portion has an arch support 30 embedded therein between thebottom insert 22 and the inner sole 26; said arch support comprising arigid steel shank 32 embedded in a layer of granular cork which issandwiched and cemented between outer sheets 36 of cardboard or leather.

The shoe has a heel 38 which, in the present disclosure, may beconsidered as of suitably shaped wood, although it may be of metal,relatively rigid, molded plastic material or other suitable relativelyrigid material. The heel is commonly provided with a lift 40 of soleleather or other suitable material.

In making the shoe, according to this invention, the stated parts of theupper are stitched together and the bottom insert 22 is inserted andstitched thereinto before any last is used.

More particularly, the collar binding 20 is suitably stitched in placearound the upper edge of the collar 10, the lower margins of said collarare suitably stitched in overlapping relation to the upper margins ofthe vamps 12 and 14, the lower margins of said vamps are broughttogether and stitched together preferably by means of a fiat seam 41which, as illustrated, extends longitudinally of and underneath the archor instep portion of the shoe; the back margins of the collar arestitched to and in position underneath the side margin of the outerbackstay 18; the inner backstay 16 is stitched into place; and the upperends of the backstays 16 and 18 are suitably trimmed and stitched inposition over the back ends of the binding 20.

It should be understood that all the mentioned pieces comprising theshoe are prefabricated to the proper shapes and sizes for each givensize of shoe so that the assembly of the upper, as just described,without the use of a last, results in an upper which, in the finishedshoe, will be of the desired'size and shape and will fit properly withrespect to sole portions of the shoe.

The upper and sole portions of the shoe may be put together by sewingthe bottom insert 22, or equivalent insert, within the described upperof the shoe after which the outer sole 24 is cemented into place. Thementioned sewing of the insert 22 is performed before any association ofthe parts of the shoe with a last.

It may be observed from Figures 1, 3 and 6 that the stitching toward theback ends of the upper margins of the vamps 12 and 14, terminates atpoints X, approximately at the front edge of the heel 38, and that thematerial of said vamps continues rearwardly to form a flap 42, which, atthe stage of manufacture shown in Figure 6, is in the nature of a freeflap. Thus, before the bottom insert 22 is put into place, the ball andtoe area of the upper is open as at 44 (Figure 6) and the heel area ofthe upper also is open as at 46.

The insert 22 is placed within the upper, either through the latters topopening or through one of open areas 44 or 46, such placing of theinsert being easily accomplished in the absence of any last. The insert22 is preformed to such an exact size that when edges about its ball andtoe portions and about its heel portion are in abutting relationship toadjacent edges of upper portions of the shoe, the resultant foot pocketof the shoe will be the exact size desired. In such abuttingrelationship, the said edges of the ball and toe portions of the insert22 are zig-zag stitched as at 48, to adjacent edges of the shoes upperand the edges of the heel portion of the insert are zig-zag stitched asat'50 to adjacent edges of the shoes'upper; Before such placing of theinsert 22, a suitable cement may be applied to the portion of the bottomsurface of insert 22 which immediately overlies adjoined portions of thevamps 12 and 14 to cause adhesion of said insert thereto.

After the described placing and securing of insert 22, the arch support30 is cemented into place upon the back end of the insert 22, the heel38 is cemented into place and firmly secured by screws 52 extendingthrough suitable screw holes in the arch support 30; said screws alsooperating to firmly secure the arch support 30 in place.

At this stage of operations, an expansion last is inserted into thepartly finished shoe whereafter the outer sole 24 is cemented intoplace. Also, the flap 42 is cemented to the front or inner surface ofthe heel and the end of said flap is held firmly underneath the lift llwhich, at that stage, is nailed or otherwise suitably secured upon thebottom of the heel.

After adequate setting of the cement in the thus-far formed shoe, thelatter is taken off the last, whereafter the inner sole 26 and then thesocklining 28 are suitably cemented into place.

It may be seen from Figure 8 that the described abutting of the ball andtoe portions of the insert 22 with adjacent portions of the upper of theshoe provide uniformity of thickness of the material between the outersole 24 and the inner sole 26 so that the latter will remainsubstantially flat or undeformed, thereby providing greater comfort-forthe wearer. A similar abutting relationship of the back or heel end ofsaid insert with adjacent parts of the upper of the shoe enables thearch support 30 and the heel 38 to be more perfectly fitted and securedin place.

It is important to note that because of the fact that the vamps 12 and14 are extended and seamed together as at 41 to give a finishedappearance underneath the arch or instep of the shoe, the outer sole 24need not extend thereunder but need only be large enough to provide asole at the step on area of the front of the shoe. This not onlyeconomizes in sole leather but also gives the shoe some addedflexibility within the limits permitted by the arch support 30 and somereduction of the tightness of fit about the instep of the wearers foot.It should be observed also that the zigzag stitching 48 and 50 issubstantially inward of the edges of the outersole 24 and of the heel 38so that the stitches are well protected against possibleruptureand also;by being invisible, improvethe appearance of the shoe.

Although the fiat seam 41, as illustrated, is centrally located, thatseam, nevertheless, may be located somewhat oif-center toward one or theother side of the bottom of the shoe.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto a ladies shoe having a heel of substantial height, this invention isalso applicable to mens' shoes or other sho'es'having relatively lowheels. The principal consideration with respect to heels is that thelatter should be of suflicient height that the adjoining portions of theupper, underlying the arch, should be raised from the floor or i.e.should not constitute a step on area of the shoe.

It will be understood that the present concepts may be utilized invarious ways other than herein specifically shown and describedwithout,however, departing'frorn the invention as set forth'in thefollowingclaim.

What I claim is:

A shoe having an upper, a heel, and an outer sole substantially spacedfrom the heel, a part of the upper extending completely across theunderside of the shoe and completely occupying the space between thesaid heel and sole, the shoe further including a bottom insert havingtoe, ball, and heel portions and an intermediate portion between saidball and'heel portions and overlying the mentioned part of'the upper,marginal portions toward opposite ends of said insert being stitched inabutting relation to adjacent'marginal portions of the upper of theshoe, and substantial, opposite marginal parts of said intermediateportion of said insert being free of stitching with respect to the upperof the shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS162,166 Heath Apr. .20, 1875 838,931 Abramowitz Dec. 18, 1906 1,927,990Parlante Sept. 26, 1933 2,218,006 Medwed Oct. 15, 1940 2,237,317 SaboApr. 8, 1941 2,645,042 Stritter July 14, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 419,101Great Britain Nov. 6, 1934

